Management Team

The Dallas, Texas based company was formed in 2024 by co-founders Michael Poynter & Will Weidig, in partnership with Post Oak Energy Capital.

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Michael Poynter serves as the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Ichthys Energy. Prior to co-founding Ichthys, Michael developed significant commercial experience in the Permian Basin across business development, finance, and investor relations roles. He most recently acted as VP of Corporate Development for Permian Resources, following the merger of Colgate Energy and Centennial Resource Development. Michael and co-founder, Will Weidig, worked extensively together throughout the merger and their time at Permian Resources. Prior to the merger, Michael acted as VP of Finance and Investor Relations for Colgate Energy. He played a key leadership role in the growth and success of both organizations, including the execution of over $10.0bn of M&A and A&D transactions and ~$1.0bn of capital markets activity. Prior to Colgate, Michael was involved in finance and business development roles with Three Rivers Operating Company III, another successful Permian focused, private equity backed venture. Prior to Three Rivers, Michael was a member of Citi’s Oil & Gas Investment Banking group based out of Houston, TX.
Michael holds a B.A. in Mathematical Economic Analysis from Rice University where he was also a quarterback on the football team.

Co-Founder & Chief Financial Officer

Will Weidig serves as the Co-Founder & Chief Financial Officer of Ichthys Energy. Will is responsible for leading the company’s corporate finance initiatives, leveraging over a decade of leadership experience in Energy finance across public and private markets. Prior to co-founding Ichthys, Will most recently acted as EVP and Chief Financial Officer of HOG Resources. Prior to HOG Resources, Will served as SVP of Finance for Permian Resources, following the merger of Colgate Energy and Centennial Resource Development. Will previously acted as VP of Finance and Treasurer for Centennial Resource Development where he played a key leadership role in the execution of over $8.0bn of M&A and A&D transactions and over $3.0bn of capital markets activity from 2016 through the merger with Colgate to form Permian Resources in 2022. Prior to Centennial, Will was a member of J.P. Morgan's Oil & Gas Investment Banking group based out of New York. While at J.P. Morgan, his efforts were focused on advising public and private oil & gas companies on a range of M&A and capital markets transactions.
Will holds a B.A. in Commerce, Organizations and Entrepreneurship from Brown University where he was a two-year captain of the baseball team. He resides in Dallas with his wife, Lindsay, and their two children.

Vice President of Land & Business Development

Zach Allman serves as the Vice President of Land & Business Development for Ichthys Energy. Zach is responsible for leading the company’s land strategy, negotiations, and business development efforts across the Permian Basin. Prior to joining Ichthys, Zach built over a decade of experience across land, title, and business development roles with private equity–backed and publicly traded operators. Most recently, he served as New Ventures Land Manager for Civitas Resources, where he directed acquisition initiatives, inventory optimization, and complex trade negotiations across the Delaware and Midland Basins. He previously held senior land and business development positions at Blue Ox Resources, Primexx Energy Partners, and Jones Energy. Over the course of his career, Zach has executed numerous DSU formations, pooling and communitization agreements, and negotiated a wide range of farm-in, joint operating, and trade agreements supporting the development of multi-zone horizontal programs in the Permian Basin. His experience spans grassroots leasing campaigns and large-scale acquisitions, with a proven record of aligning title, regulatory, and commercial objectives to unlock development opportunities.
Zach holds a B.B.A. in Finance and Energy Management from the University of Oklahoma. He resides in Dallas with his wife, Sarah, and their three children.

Vice President of Geoscience

Philip Murtaugh serves as the Vice President of Geoscience at Ichthys Energy. Philip has extensive experience across the Permian Basin, and over the last 15 years has worked in operations, field development, new ventures, and business development functions. Prior to joining Ichthys, Philip worked on the Business Development team at Diamondback Energy, providing subsurface technical support for M&A and A&D evaluations. During his tenure at Diamondback the team executed on over $30bn of transactions. Prior to that, he was a key member of the technical team at Endeavor Energy Resources, helping grow horizontal business from 25k BOE/day to over 400k BOE/day. Before Endeavor, Philip was on the Operations Geology team at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation where he provided geosteering and data collection support for the company’s early Wolfcamp appraisal program. He began his career in the field working for Schlumberger on the North Slope in Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Philip holds a B.S. in Physical Geography from Texas A&M University and a M.S. in Geology from the University of Texas Permian Basin, where his graduate research focused on organic petrology and petroleum systems. He resides in Dallas with his wife, AnnMarie, and their daughter.

Director of Reservoir Engineering

Michael Sonnier joined Ichthys Energy in 2025 as Director of Reservoir Engineering. He brings a broad background spanning reservoir engineering, business development, and corporate strategy, with a proven track record of driving value creation in the Permian Basin. Before Ichthys, Michael held key roles at Black Mountain Oil & Gas, Diamondback Energy, and Endeavor Energy Resources, where he advanced commercial and development strategies through corporate planning, business development, and reservoir engineering. His experience includes portfolio management of capital programs over $2.5bn, oversight of non-operated assets, expansion of royalty positions and corporate budgeting & forecasting. In business development, Michael led evaluations of asset and corporate acquisitions across multiple U.S. basins, while also underwriting royalty acquisitions exceeding $120 million. His combined technical and commercial expertise allows him to bridge strategic vision with operational execution.
Michael holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering and an MBA from Louisiana State University.